Covington Catholic students return to school

COVINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ)- Many Covington Catholic students returned to school today after making national headlines for an encounter with a Native American Vietnam veteran that many still aren’t sure how to interpret.

School was closed Tuesday because it reportedly started receiving threats. Those came after several students were caught on camera this weekend in Washington, D.C, seemingly taunting a Native American Vietnam veteran.

- Advertisement -

Later, a longer video and a statement from one of the students involved suggested the students were the ones being taunted, and weren’t necessarily at fault.

In an interview Wednesday morning, one student, Nicholas Sandmann, said he wasn’t disrespectful to Nathan Phillips, the Native elder seen in the video, but, in hindsight, wishes the students could’ve walked away and avoided the encounter.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is the latest to come to the students’ support.

He framed the Covington story as a rush to judgment that puts constitutional rights at risk.

“Because of what some highly partisan observers thought, thought they saw in a few seconds of confusing video, these kids, their school, and their families were met with a deluge, a virtual deluge of partisan vitriol and hatred from people who never met them and had no idea what had taken place,” McConnell said.

There are some people who feel the longer video and Sandmann’s account don’t exonerate the students nor their school.